1901
Jean Prouvé was born in Paris on April 8th into a family of artists: Victor Prouvé, his father, is a painter and Marie Duhamel, his mother, a pianist. He is the second of seven children. In Nancy in 1904, Victor Prouvé succeeds Emile Gallé as president of the “ École de Nancy ” Art Nouveau movement, and later becomes director of the École des beaux-arts.

1916-21
The learning years

1916-19
Learns wrought iron skills in the Enghien workshop of sculptor-ironworker Emile Robert, a friend of his father. In 1917 he begins making his own wrought iron pieces: a garden gate for the painter Victor Guillaume and a base for a vase made by his godfather Emile Gallé.

1919-21
Trains under the wrought-iron craftsman Szabo in Paris, learning modern metalworking and welding techniques.

1921-23
Military service in the cavalry. Shows his wrought-iron work in exhibitions at the École des beaux-arts in Nancy.

1931
Founding of the company “Ateliers Jean Prouvé” and the move to new premises on the Rue des Jardiniers in Nancy. This space facilitates modernization of working techniques and fulfi llment of Jean Prouvé’s new goals: increasingly industrialized items for the building industry and mass-produced furniture. From here on the many patents taken out by Jean Prouvé are systematically in the name of “Ateliers Jean Prouvé”, the name that becomes his signature. Furniture for the public sector (the Cité universitaire in Nancy, hospitals, sanatoriums, offi ces). Railings and stainless steel doors for the liner Koutoubia. Main gate for the Musée des Colonies in Paris (A. Laprade, architect).
Large glass facade for the Citroën showrooms in Lyon (M. Ravazé, architect).

1939
Competition for the construction components for OTUA (M. Lods, architect). Demountable buildings with internal portal frame and furniture for the SCAL, Issoire, with the BCC (Central Construction Bureau), (P. Jeanneret, architect). Production of several hundred demountable, external frame barracks for combat units of the IVth and Vth armies. Prototype for a caravan, with P. Jeanneret. 1940-44 The War years; Jean Prouvé plays an active part in the Resistance. Wartime production: gas generators for trucks, charcoal ovens, “Pyrobal” stoves, bicycle frames, trailers, etc. “Écoles volantes” project (temporary school buildings) and village clubhouses with internal portal, with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret. 8×8 pavilon with wooden portal frame for the BCC, Saint-Auban, 1941-1942 (P. Jeanneret, architect). “All wood” furniture: chairs, tables, stools. Furniture for the Solvay hospital in Dombasle: chaise longue and designs for the Visiteur armchair. Offi ce furniture: tables, chairs, rack shelving. Designs aluminum house with Marcel Lods and builds prototype.
Restores the Jean Lamour gates on Place Stanislas and Place de la Carrière in Nancy.

1944
Nancy is liberated. Pending elections, Jean Prouvé is made mayor (September 1944-May 1945) and a member of the Assemblée consultative provisoire. Actively dedicates himself to restoring acceptable living conditions and promoting public awareness of the need for mutual aid.

1946
After five years in POW camps, his brothers Henri and Pierre return to the Ateliers Jean Prouvé. Portal frame building site huts for the mines at Zellidja, in Algeria. Founds the Stahlhaus company in conjunction with the Dillingen steelworks. Prototype house build at Sarrebruck. Prefabricated house for an experimental Ministère de la Reconstruction project at Noisy-le-Sec (with H. Prouvé). Studies prefabricated units for Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation in Marseille (Le Corbusier, architect). Domestic furniture; “all wood” dining room suite (sideboard, table, chairs); awarded the 1947 Meubles de France seal.

1947
The Ateliers Jean Prouvé leave the Rue des Jardiniers and move into a real factory in Maxéville, near Nancy. Gold Medal from the Ministère de la Reconstruction et de l’Urbanisme (MRU). Designs the École professionnelle de Verrerie, Croismare, 1947-48 (H. Prouvé, architect). Portal frame cabins for the EDF mobile site at Ottmarsheim, 1947-48. Testing chambers and partitions for the Institut de recherche de la sidérurgie (IRSID) at Saint-Germainen- Laye, 1947-52 (R. Coulon, architect).

1951
Furniture and fi ttings for the Air-France Congo building in Brazzaville (Ch. Perriand, interior decorator). Centrale table. Lighting library table for the Maison de l’étudiant in Paris, with Charlotte Perriand and André Salomon.

1953
“Compass” base desks and tables. Presents a school unit and scholastic furniture at the Zürich Exhibition. Gate for the ClAM (International Congress of Modern Architecture) in Aix-en-Provence, with architecture interns J. Belmont and M. Silvy. Facade panels, porch roof and furniture for the Sécurité sociale offices in Le Mans, 1953-54 (J. Le Couteur, architect). Facades for the apartment block on Square Mozart, Paris, 1953-54, (L. Mirabeau, architect). Schools at Palaiseau, L’Hay-Ies-Roses, Saint-Avold, Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, Aubergenville etc., 1952- 53. Facades and interiors for the SFR plant in Saint- Egrève (A. Gutton, architect). Wins the competition for the project for the Cité universitaire in Nancy, with P. La Mache (architect), T. Carim and M. Silvy (architecture interns) and S. Kétoff (engineer). Facades for the state offi ces in Bayonne (A. Remondet, architect). Design for a polar research station in Terre Adélie (V. Bodiansky, engineer). Numerous items of furniture for the public sector, (in particular student dormitories). In June, Jean Prouvé designs the bent aluminum “Tokyo” table in collaboration with Charlotte Perriand. Resigns as CEO of Ateliers Jean Prouvé as a sign of his disagreement with Studal policy. He stays on as administrator at Ateliers Jean Prouvé until January 1956.

1954
Works in the Aluminium Français offi ces in Paris, but remains in contact with the factory at Maxéville. Pavilion for the Centenaire de l’aluminium, Paris (M. Hugonet, engineer). Schools at Blanc-Mesnil (A. Lurçat, architect), Custines (Ph. Legrand, architect), Genneville, etc. Builds his own house in Nancy. Aluminum facades for social housing blocks, Saint- Jean-de-Maurienne (M. Blanc, architect). Sun-shutters for a holiday spot at Cap-Martin, (Le Corbusier, architetct).

1955
“Beauté France” seal of approval for the architectural features of the Centenaire de l’aluminium pavilion. Props and facades for the Institut français des pétroles, Rueil-Malmaison (P. Dufau, architect). Design for a mass-produced apartment block. Furniture, Cité universitaire,
Antony.

1957
Constructions Jean Prouvé is absorbed by the Compagnie industrielle de matériel de transport (CIMT). Jean Prouvé is put in charge of the construction department while retaining the freedom to work and an engineering consultant. The consultancy is henceforth known as CIMT-Jean Prouvé. Temporary school at Villejuif. Lobby for the Renault building in Flins (B. Zehrfuss, architect). Studies for “ nomadic ” churches and executes projects in Moselle, 1957-63.

1971
End of Jean Prouvé’s teaching career at CNAM. President of the Cercle d’études architecturales, 1971-77. President of the jury for the Centre Georges Pompidou competition, Paris. Les Evettes mountain shelter (G. Rey-Millet, architect).

1972
Made an associate member of the Académie Stanislas in Nancy. Medal for Research and Technique awarded by the Oscar Phidias Academy of Architecture. Bron-Parilly University, Lyon (R. Dottelonde, architect, Pétroff, engineer). Facades for the Crédit Agricole bank headquarters, Bourg-en-Bresse (P. and M. Dosse, architects).

1973
School, Trappes (Merlin, architect).

1974
Perrache Trainstation, Lyon (R. Gagès, architect).

1975
Prize in the La Villette competition (with J. Belmont). Studies and builds the bell-tower for the Notre- Dame-du-Haut chapel at Ronchamp, after an idea by Le Corbusier.